In Hash Brown Heaven

Eat It: Front Porch Family Diner

Front Porch delights with big breakfast, price of coffee, tea

By Rachel Birdsell
TFW Contributing Writer

Preamble Ramble

(Photo: Richard Davis) The big three-egg Traditional Breakfast at Front Porch Family Diner offers a generous helping o' food for $8. This plate was covered with scrambled eggs, ham, sausage, hash browns and wheat toast. And, yeah, I put jelly on that bread.

The Front Porch has been on my list for a while now. It’s on U.S. 412 East, just off Powell Street. It sits back off the road a little ways, and I have to admit I missed it once and almost drove by it again. I was glad I finally did find it because I ended up getting a great breakfast with bonuses you don’t find at other restaurants.

Food For Thought

I ordered the large Traditional Breakfast which is three eggs, your choice of two meats, hash browns and toast. I normally don’t eat a 40-pound breakfast, but the Front Porch doesn’t serve their two-egg plate after 10:30 a.m. I happened to have been having my breakfast at 1 in the afternoon, so I missed the cutoff time.
I decided to have ham and sausage with my over-medium eggs. My heaping plate o’ breakfast arrived quickly, and I started the monumental task of making it disappear.
The eggs were good. They weren’t anything to write home about, but I most certainly appreciated that they were cooked exactly over medium. Anything less than over medium is just gross to me. I don’t want anything mucous-looking on my plate, thank you very much.
The ham was a generous portion of some mighty tasty pork. The sausage patties had a good flavor and were cooked just right. The best part was they weren’t greasy.
Now for the hash browns, which were the star of the plate. I know I’ve written before about how hash browns aren’t really my thing — and they still aren’t. But, these were the best hash browns I’ve ever had the pleasure of laying on my taste buds. They were divine. Crispy on the outside (without being burnt), tender on the inside and the seasoning on them was amazing. If all hash browns tasted like these, I’d be a sworn hash brown junkie.

The Sporkcast

(1-5 sporks)

Atmosphere: 3.75 unassuming sporks with illuminated handles. The dining room is large and sparsely decorated. There are a few paintings and Bible verses on the walls. There was gospel music playing pretty loudly, and I’m about as fond of it as I am of country music, which is not fond at all. It wouldn’t have been bad if it wasn’t so loud.
Food: 4.75 sturdy, stainless steel sporks. The food was good. It is some of the best breakfast I’ve ever had in Northwest Arkansas and definitely the best hash browns. One thing I’ve never seen before that they offer is one of the meat choices for
breakfast is a catfish fillet. How cool is that?
Staff: 4.80 pale pink sporks with daisies on the handles. Our server was very sweet. We ended up with a bit of a mix-up on one of the orders, but it was quickly remedied.
Dollars spent: My breakfast left me about $8 poorer than when I went in. The bonus I was telling you about? Your coffee and tea are free with your meal. FREE. I can’t think of any other restaurant around that gives you coffee and tea for FREE. Plus, you can add a serving of biscuits and gravy to your breakfast for $1!
Chance of returning: I’d definitely go back for breakfast, preferably before 10:30 a.m. so I don’t have to order as much food. Next time, I think I’ll even slap a catfish filet on my breakfast plate.

If you know of a great eating place, drop me a line at rabirdsell@gmail.com. I’ll check it out and let you know what I think.